Thank you, Central Michigan Life, for being the voice for students, faculty and staff, alumni, and the entire Central Michigan University community. For almost 100 years we have relied on you to inform us of what’s going on, both on and off campus.

So this year, during the Annual University Campaign, I’m putting my money where your mouth is – CM Life’s Gift Account. Go to the campaign website and select “CM-Life Program” from the pull down menu.

CM Life is an undervalued resource at CMU—one that hasn’t had a significant budget increase or investment in more than 10 years. I urge the CMU community to think about standing with me, and with CM Life, by making a donation. Show your appreciation to past, present, and future students who work hard to run down the stories that inform so much of what happens on campus.

Did you know that cm-life.com receives an average of 1.3 million page views per year? Did you know the pick-up rate of the FREE print edition off-campus is about 70 percent? That’s amazing given the overall national decline in print readership. Did you know that CM Life’s podcasts received almost 9,000 downloads/listens last year? And finally, did you know that CM Life is the No. 4 student media presence on Facebook behind the likes of The Harvard Crimson (Harvard University), The Daily Californian (University of California at Berkeley) and the Daily Tar Heel (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)?

CM Life is inextricably tied to CMU. Wouldn’t it be great if CM-Life had the resources to run down every story — even when it means the reporter needs to get a passport and catch a 12-hour flight across the world? Can you imagine what it would be like for a CM-Life reporter to travel to Italy, Scotland, France, or Costa Rica to report firsthand on what our students are learning during a study abroad class experience? What about traveling to Kentucky to visit Murray State and report on our new president, Dr. Robert Davies?

Opportunities like these would be game changers for everyone involved. Imagine what CM Life can accomplish if they have the resources for more reporting, podcasts, videos and for becoming a top-ranked media presence on Twitter and on Instagram.

CM Life’s rise to prominence and excellence is a win-win for everyone, but the win needs a cash infusion.